Page 5 - BP1Z 015 Panama Canal history and purpose
P. 5
Naturally, early Spanish
navigators from the 16th
century wanted to create
a shortcut that would provide
a strategic access point to Peru,
Ecuador, and even Asia.
Surveys of the Panama region
showed the strategic value of
the isthmus for creating
such a shortcut.
Plans to build a canal began
as early as 1529,
but war delayed them.
